Review of Air Canada flight from San Francisco to Vancouver in Economy

This series covers a trip up to British Columbia, which will give a good head to head comparison of AC/UA on their respective MAXs and a look at the new SFO Maple Leaf Lounge.

This route is heavily serviced by AC, UA, and F8. F8 is obviously the cheapest by far (>3x cheaper), but we booked *A considering the flight times that were most compatible with our schedule. This left us with an AC flight up to YVR and a UA flight on the return leg. Both flights were booked with Basic Economy fares since *G status erases most of the ticket restrictions. On paper, AC should offer the better product in all cabins, but I'll let the reports be the judge.

This report will cover the AC leg from San Francisco to Vancouver.

Pre-flight

After booking our one-way ticket SFO-YVR with AC, we were immediately assigned seats as part of AC's commitment to guarantee seating for families despite booking an Basic Economy ticket. We received row 22 D/E/F, which was acceptable. In the months leading up to this trip, we received numerous e-mails from AC informing us of an aircraft swap from a B737 to an A320, which was then swapped back to a B737. There were also 2 flight time changes, which had <10 minute adjustments to the departure and arrival times.

Day of departure, we arrived to SFO T2 at 10:45, which was more than sufficient time. Check-in counters for AC were easy to find and we joined the priority lane, which was filled with 2 families. It was a slow process and we would have been helped quicker if just used the normal line that had no queue. We had to wait ~10 minutes to be helped.

The agent quickly processed all of our passports and amended some FFP information painlessly (a feat UA failed to do on multiple previous trips this summer). Our bags were tagged and we were handed our boarding passes with instructions on how to access security and where the new Maple Leaf Lounge was located in the D pier. With the heavy traffic to YVR, YYC, YEG, YYZ, and YUL from SFO there is good justification for a dedicated lounge. The highlight of this trip was the chance to see the new lounge since the UA Clubs in E/F/G are short of pathetic.

Boarding pass for this flight.

Off to security we go, which was empty and we were airside in less than 5 minutes with PreCheck.

We won't be heading into the iconic T2 fishing nets, but instead head off to the left, where the Maple Leaf Lounge is located.

It is accessed by a small elevator on the side of the walkway.

Upstairs, we get some nice tarmac views exiting the elevator. A B787 to YYZ and a CRJ-900 to YVR are both getting ready to leave. Surprised to see they still have some B787s in the old livery.

The lounge is accessed by scanning your boarding pass and requires facial scanning.

The lounge was quite large and had plenty of diversity in seating areas with good tarmac views throughout. We headed off to the corner of the main seating area where there was some free seating.

A nice mural of San Francisco adorns the wall.

One of several TV areas.

The buffet was far superior to the UA Club's offering. They had 6 hot entrees and several cold offerings (sandwiches, salad, etc.). With no food expected on the plane, we took advantage of the offering. It was substantial enough to cover a meal and the quality was quite good.

Tarmac views from our table were primarily of the AS operations below.

A full bar is also on offer in the back.

The bathrooms were large, clean, and modern. Molton Brown products were on offer as expected with AC.

After eating an early lunch, my son was eager to check out the highlight of this lounge, its outdoor terrace. The terrace is not huge, but has a good amount of seating. The lounge is so new, they didn't even take off the plastic wrapping on the outdoor lighting.

A very nice SFO mural adorning the back wall.

I spent the next hour with my son doing some plane spotting on this nice summer day with good views of the runways and taxiway to the A pier (international).

KE B77W arriving as KE23 from ICN.

UA B787-9 departing as UA1705 to IAH (a flight we took earlier this summer).

My son has recently been fascinated by KLM and was jumping up and down to see the B787-10 arriving from AMS.

JL B787-9 arriving as JL58 from NRT.

F9 A319 with its cute little Trixie the Fox livery.

At 12:45, we left the lounge. Exiting the lounge, we can now see our B737 MAX 8 is here prepping for the return to YVR.

It was a short walk to the gate. T2 is cursed by dots on the window, that make photography almost impossible…

…the best I can manage of our raccoon of the day.

flight

Air Canada, AC567
Equipment: Boeing B737 MAX 8 [C-GEHV, delivered February 2019]
Departure: 13:10 (ATD: 13:48)
Arrival: 15:35 (ATA: 15:27)
Flight time: 1:40

Boarding finally started at 12:50 with Group 1. It was going to be a very full flight and we were already being advised of limited overhead bin space.

We boarded with Group 2 as *G. It was a very neutral welcome on board with the 2 FAs in the galley not really showing any interest in passengers and only said "hi" momentarily taking a break from their own conversation.

We passed through the J cabin, which looks sufficient for the hop up to YVR, but might be a stretch for the longer runs up to YUL that use this aircraft type. The menus on the seat are a clear sign that AC blows UA out of the water on the trans-border market: AC offers the choice of 2 hot entrees whereas UA offers a snack basket. For the >$500 premium on a one-way ticket, it did not tempt us. It would go out 100% full just like Y.

AC's extra legroom seats.

And then back to the normal Y seats.

We settled into our seats in Row 22. My son fights for the window seat, so I settled for the aisle. The pitch was good.

AC's B737 MAX 8s are equipped with seat back entertainment.

In addition to the USB jack on the bottom of the IFE, there is also a USB port with the AC plug under the seat.

Some looks at the cabin as we wait for boarding to complete through Groups 3-6.

The tiny seat back tray table. Still more than enough room for their catering on this route.

The seat back contents.

Safety card for this B737 MAX 8.

BISTRO in-flight catering. Selection is good and the prices are very cheap with the favorable exchange rate. The inclusion of kid's meals for only 5 CAD (~$4) is very notable.

The business class meals are available for purchase for 18 CAD (~$15) and you can also get the wines served in J for 10 CAD (~$8). Both very reasonable prices given the steep price difference in fares.

The IFE was a very nice feature onboard and was expensive in content. Unfortunately, WiFi was not available on the flight.

After boarding was completed, the FAs came through and offered headphones for sale (3 CAD), which is pretty ridiculous since UA offers these for free when IFE is present.

The Disney themed safety video played while we taxied out, which was then followed by ~5 advertisements. Again, just makes AC feel cheap being forced to watch 5 minutes of ads before take off.

We eventually made it over to Runway 01R for take-off.

Only a glimpse of the winglet from the aisle seat as we align and start our run down the runway with our subdued LEAP-1Bs.

We head straight past OAK before turning to start our run north.

As we approached Mt. Shasta, the carts reached our aisle.

I took a ginger ale, which was served in a very small cup. No snacks are complimentary, all food is purchase only.

Halfway there, I did a quick stop in the lavatory. It was dirty and tiny (as expected on MAXs).

View of the cabin from the rear.

I managed to get the middle seat for the rest of the flight so had the chance to get some view from the window. Just in time to catch Mt. Hood as we crossed from Oregon to Washington.

We approached over Seattle and then entered our approach into YVR on a hot/hazy day (>35C).

Entering Boundary Bay as we start to swoop into the greater Vancouver area.

Aligning with the Fraser River.

Unfortunately a hazy day that limits the great views normally seen on approach into VYR.

We touch down on Runway 26R slightly ahead of schedule as the spoilers deploy.

Passing the first of two LH B747s, highlighting the YVR demand during the peak summer season.

We pull into a gate next to an AC A321.

We eventually are out and start our trek towards immigration. Not sure what is up with the Pacific Northwest and green carpets, reminds me of PDX.

WK A340 and the second LH B747.

It was a long walk to immigration, almost 15 minutes.

Down we go. Immigration was very fast and painless using the kiosks. By the time we reached the baggage claims, the priority bags were already circulating so we were quickly out through customs and into our ride to the city center.

This is where I will leave off this series as we start our stay up north.

flight details